Al Green Back Up Train CD

Compilation producers: Steve Bartels, Gary Pacheco.
Digitally remastered by Chris Athens (Sterling Sound, New York, New York).
This is part of Arista's Heritage series.
Liner Note Author: Anthony Heilbut.
Nearly forgotten by all but serious soul fans, Back Up Train is Al Green's debut. Released in 1967, when he was still billed as "Al Greene" and before he worked with producer Willie Mitchell, the record is a perfectly serviceable slice of slightly sweet period soul -- perhaps a little generic, but never less than pleasant. Much of the record was either written or co-written by the album's producers, Palmer E. James and Curtis Rodgers, who were not just part of Hot Line Records, but in the Creations, Green's previous backing band. Though they're fine as producers, they didn't have strong material as songwriters, never producing something as limber and memorable as Green's lone songwriting credit, "Stop and Check Myself." Musically, this number, along with a few other cuts, suggest the tight, sexy sound of his seminal Hi albums, but they're nowhere near as seductive as those slow grooves, nor are they as effortless. Still, it's possible to hear their roots throughout the record. Green's voice, while not as smooth as it would be just a few years later, shows enormous talent, he's equally comfortable with ballads and funky workouts, and the production, while dated, is quite appealing in how it falls somewhere between the grit of Memphis and the sweetness of Chicago soul. Back Up Train is good enough that if Green hadn't gone on to greater work, this would be the kind of record soul fanatics would treasure and trade, speculating on what might have happened if Green had been given another shot. Of course, Green went on to bigger, better things, and this stands as no more than a footnote to his career, but it's an interesting, enjoyable footnote all the same. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Most of the entries in Arista's Heritage Master Hits series are good compilations, but Al Green's volume is different -- and it's a distinction Green fanatics will be eager to embrace. His Arista Heritage Master Hits is a remastered reissue of his debut album, Back Up Train, which was previously unavailable on CD. The record wasn't a masterpiece, yet it wasn't bad at all, showing that Green's talent was blindingly evident even at the inception of his career. This is a grittier sound than his classic Hi recordings, which doesn't always suit Green's sweet vocals, and the songs are a little spotty. Nevertheless, the album is highly enjoyable, especially for the hardcore fans that have been longing for this record to finally be available on CD. And to make a good package even nicer, the disc boasts two previously unreleased songs from the sessions: "What's It All About" and "A Lover's Hideaway." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Misleading title aside, MASTER HITS is actually the long-overdue CD version of Green's 1967 debut album, featuring "Back Up Train," the ballad that was his first successful single (as a member of the Soulmates). The album, of course, pre-dates Green's move to producer Willie Mitchell's Hi Records, and the long string of hits that resulted from that collaboration. In fact, there are few hints here of what you'd consider the Al Green style--he sounds like a capable (if somewhat faceless) soul singer a la Jackie Wilson. Apart from "Train," the best cut is probably "Stop and Check Myself," a sinuous falsetto vocal workout that's also Green's sole songwriting contribution to the album.
Sometimes genius doesn't reveal itself right off the bat; the first
recordings of artists as monumental as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and David Bowie offered little hint of the greatness to come. Al Green's first
album, 1967's BACK UP TRAIN, doesn't hit any of the heights his
subsequent records would achieve either, but for an artist still in the
formative stages, it's pretty damn impressive nonetheless (much more so than the debuts of